CULTURAL READINGS: Colonization & Print in the Americas

Jay I. Kislak Foundation

Diego Durán, Historia general de las Indias de Nueva España y islas de Tierra Firme. Mexico City: J.M. Andrade y F. Escalante, 1867-80.

Durán, born in Mexico to an Aztec mother and a Spanish father, became a Franciscan and set out to measure the possibilities and limits of Spanish missionization. His fragmentary history is divided into three sections: a history of Mexico before the Spanish invasion; native religion; and native calendars and festivals. Durán relied on native informants, probably from the Nahua elite, as he constructed his account. The colored lithographic plates which accompany this 19th century printed edition of the 16th century manuscript are based on Nahuatl drawings. While it deals primarily with pre-conquest history, Durán's text also contains important details about the early post-conquest period, based on native materials which may now be lost.

Other illustrations from this edition

Print and Native Cultures

• [Return to] Print as a (Re)source for Native Cultures
• Oral Cultures in Print
• Native Writing

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